


Dark Stars Shining

by Spicybeastmode



Series: Dark Stars [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien anatomy, Babies!, Depression, Family Fluff, Fluff romance, Forbidden Love, Graphic Violence, Interspecies Relationship, Kid!Keith (Voltron), M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Rape/Non-con - Freeform, Rebellion, Slavery, Violence, attempted suicide, dads of marmora
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 13:52:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10992246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spicybeastmode/pseuds/Spicybeastmode
Summary: He felt empty. Like his whole life was meaningless. Filling the boots of his oldest brother, Sendak seemed like an impossible task. He wanted it all to end, to stop, to go away.But he was too afraid to kill himself.So he asked someone for help. Instead, they showed him a world worth living for.





	Dark Stars Shining

Valak was the youngest son of a long line of proud Galra warriors. His family was full of strong, agile fighters who would lay down their lives for their emperor, Zarkon. He had three older brothers, including one Commander Sendak, the favored son of his family. Each of them were tall, muscular and gruff.  
Valak, however, was small. His father said he just hadn't hit his final growth spurt just yet, despite the fact that he was twenty. He barely came up to his brother Sendak's shoulders, and that was with his ears perked up all the way. He wasn't weak, certainly, but he was scrawny, especially considering the size of his brothers. His strength was entirely wiry. His only real advantage that he ever had when sparring his siblings was that he was lighter, and faster. He didn't have to drag around a bulk of muscle, so he was able to quickly dark under and around his brothers' attacks.  
Despite this advantage, he rarely won their sparring matches.  
"What's with the mopey ears?" Sendak asked, eyeing him with his one good eye. The Druids were working on his regular arm, so he had a more pragmatic one on.  
Valak pouted as Sendak ruffled his fur. "I really wish you'd stop treating me like a kit," he growled.  
Sendak lifted an eyebrow, offering a seat to his youngest brother. "Father give you the growth speech again?"  
Valak glowered at him for a minute before nodding. "Any day now, kit. Any day, and you'll be as big and tough as your brother Sendak! I'm so proud of him! Commander in Zarkon's fleet!" He stopped as he realized that he was taking out his anger on Sendak. "Sorry," he mumbled.  
Sendak sighed. "No, it's fine. I can't control what Father says. I do wish he'd stop making me out to be the golden kit, though." His brow wrinkled a tiny bit before his expression turned sympathetic. "To be fair, he has a point, though."  
"What, that you're Zarkon's favorite?" He glowered at his brother.  
Sendak laughed. "Hardly. He may have trained me, but it took me scratching and biting everyone else on my fleet before he finally took matters into his hands. Honestly, I still think he believes me to be a rapscallion."  
Valak laughed. "You, a rapscallion?"  
Sendak grinned. "Oh, yes, brother. I wasn't much bigger than you are now when that happened. Wasn't until I hit thirty that I hit my final growth spurt." He rubbed his head. "Still not the tallest, but between you and I, Throk is freakishly tall."  
Valak laughed. He loved these chats with his brother. Everything he said was like a fantastic story, giving him insight into the lives of the other Commanders. He knew so many things about them. Morvok was a shriveled, blind coward, but he always had a wide selection of sweets; Throk stuck ridiculous googly eyes on all of his prototypes; Resōn secretly crushed on Throk; Prorok loved his soap operas.  
Sendak would launch into one of the stories about his fellow Commanders, or one of his adventures conquering another planet. Today was no different, and he had Valak laughing heartily by the end of it.  
"And of course, Throk was devastated," he finished, grinning. "Despite the fact that it was his own fault for not telling poor Haxus."  
Valak giggled, putting his hands over his mouth, grinning.  
Sendak's smile faded a little as he noticed something that smelled... off. He frowned and held out his prosthetic hand. "Aviil, your hand?"  
Valak deflated and timidly handed over his hand. Sendak softly pulled back his little brother's sleeve, revealing two rows of fresh scabs. A few of them had broken, and were leaking fresh blood.  
Sendak sighed, looking up at his brother, his expression describing only worry. "Aviil, you need to let someone help you," he said softly.  
Valak pulled his hand away, tugging his sleeve back into place. "I'm fine," he growled bitterly. "It's not my fault that I'm the disappointment of this family," he snapped bitterly. It is my fault. I'm nothing, worthless. I'd be less of a shame if I were dead.  
Sendak winced. "Valak, please, listen to yourself! You're not a disappointment!" He put his hands on his little brother's shoulders.  
"Sir, you're needed on the bridge," Haxus' voice came over the intercom.  
"I'm busy, it can wait." Sendak snarled back.  
"I'm afraid not, sir. It's Zarkon."  
Sendak sighed. Valak put his hand on Sendak's shoulder. "It's okay. Go. I'll be here when you get back."  
Sendak gave him a worried look, gently licking him on the head. "Please don't do anything foolish," he said softly before he left.  
"Don't worry," Valak murmured to the closed door. "I never do." He looked down at his wrist, deciding that he'd have to move the spot he cut.  
He waited for a little while before gathering up his bag that he'd brought and moved out the door before Sendak came back. He had just wanted to see his brother one last time.  
He went down below, to the slave pits. He waited his turn and when he was finally called in, he moved into the dim room silently. "Enjoy your time," said the proctor.  
The door slid shut silently, and Valak shifted, looking around. The dim room was fairly barren, with a love pit dug into the ground, pillows and blankets scattered in it, and a heavy hook used for bondage off to one side of the pit. Soft scents drifted pleasantly in the air, and the lighting was a soft golden color. The whole setup felt close, intimate, almost lusty.  
In the corner of the room was a soft, red-violet ball of fluff. At first, Valak thought it was a Galra, but it was too small, and the tail that wrapped around the legs defied Galra anatomy. The slave looked up, showing softly glowing amber eyes. The slave quickly looked away, curling tighter around itself. Small bands of amber began glowing on the slave's wrists and ankles, spotted patterns appearing on their fur.  
In another situation, Valak would have thought the display quite beautiful. Now, however, it was just sad. He softly moved over and placed his bag on the ground, pulling out the contents and laying it in an organized manner on the floor. A length of rope, several knives of varying sizes, a gag, and a hammer and several long nails. He knelt down and closed his eyes, patiently waiting for the slave to approach him.  
It was a good while before the slave finally peeked out again, then crawled towards him quietly. The slave paused a little way away from him, tail twitching out behind him.  
Valak opened his eyes and looked at the slave, giving him a gentle smile. "Hullo," he said softly.  
The slave jumped, curling back up for a moment before he realized that Valak wasn't going to punish him. Valak waited patiently for a response. "Um... 'Lo..."  
Valak turned more fully to the slave, that gentle smile never leaving his face. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."  
The slave looked heavily like he did not believe Valak.  
Valak gestured to the tools in front of him, still the smile on his face. His expression seemed to turn sad. "Please, kill me."  
The slave stared at him in blank shock. None before Valak had ever asked anything like this. He didn't know how to react.  
Valak paused, then pointed to the rope. "You can tie me up if that would make you feel better. I wouldn't fight, I promise."  
The slave still made no move.  
Valak frowned sadly. "Please. I... I can't do it myself, I always have too many people around that keep me here. But... you..."  
The slave shook his head, his expression torn. "Why?" He asked.  
Valak stopped, looking at the slave in confusion. "What?"  
The slave hesitated. "You have family, friends, all of whom love you. Why would you want to leave that?"  
Valak paused. He looked away. "I'm a disappointment to my family. I'm small and weak, and I'll never make a good soldier."  
The slave made another hesitation. "So... what if you stopped trying to be? Maybe you're disappointing them because you're not doing what you want?"  
Valak blinked, looking back at the slave. He'd... never thought about that. But... what did he want? "I... My family has always been soldiers..."  
The slave hesitantly moved closer. "W-well, maybe you could change that?" He said.  
Valak hesitated. "But... I... I don't know. I've never... given that much thought..."  
The slave settled down across from Valak. "So why don't you tell me? I can keep a secret if you don't want anyone else to know." He gave Valak a tiny smile.  
Valak looked at him, flushing a little. "Um... Maybe not right now... I... Why are you just talking to me? I asked you to kill me."  
The slave shifted, looking a little uncomfortable. "When I was little, before I was separated from my mother, she used to tell me that if I could save just one life, then I would have done more with my life than the one who built the stars." He looked up. "She also used to say that it didn't matter what color someone's fur was. If they needed help, I should help them."  
Valak blinked. "You... have a good mother."  
The slave shifted. "Had. She died a few years ago."  
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that," Valak murmured softly.  
The slave smiled. "She's in a better place," he replied.  
Valak choked down tears as he heard that, knowing that it was utterly true. He felt soft hands on his shoulders and realized that the slave had moved behind him and was gently rubbing him. He went stiff and the hands stopped.  
"How... can you be so okay in your situation?" He asked softly.  
"It's all I've ever known," the slave replied gently, starting to massage Valak again.  
Valak could feel his anxiety starting to ease as the hands worked. "That's sad," he murmured softly, closing his eyes and relaxing into the touch.  
The slave shrugged. "Call it what you will. I think, however, that my cage is less cruel than yours." He said, working some of the tension out of Valak's shoulders. "The bars of my cage are of someone else's construction. You make your own cage."  
Valak was silent as the slave continued to massage him. The two spent some time like that, in surprisingly pleasant silence. Eventually, however, Valak had to get back up. He packed up his tools, moving to the door. He paused before he left, looking back at the slave. "Thank you," he said simply.  
The slave smiled. Valak smiled as he left, feeling lighter than he had in years.  
Sendak found him walking back to the room he'd promised to stay in. "Valak! Where were you?!" He demanded, his tone harsh. "I was worried."  
Valak simply looked at him and smiled. "It's okay, Sendak. I'm fine."  
Sendak glared at him for a moment before sighing, reaching back and soothing down his hackles. "Look, just... I'm going to be gone for a few quintants on mission. Try to stay out of trouble?"  
Valak nodded. "Of course, brother."  
Sendak sighed, ruffling Valak's fur, then drawing him into a tight hug. "Thank you," he said, giving him another gentle lick.

Valak chuffed softly as his brother left to go get settled in for his long trip away. He moved off to his own quarters and set to work thinking of what he wanted. He knew it would be difficult, but maybe if he could succeed in what he wanted to do...  
Maybe he wouldn't feel like such a failure.


End file.
